University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Saturday, December 1
Lafayette
7 p.m.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

vs

Southern

Southern MBB Graphic

@RaginCajunsMBB Game 8 Preview: vs. Southern

11/30/2018 2:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Louisiana opens four-game homestand with first meeting against Jaguars since 1996

LAFAYETTE – They're back. And just in time for the Christmas holidays.
 
After spending nearly a month on the road, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team will return home to the Cajundome on Saturday when it plays host to in-state opponent Southern University.
 
Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Dan McDonald (PxP) and Eric Mouton (color) on the call. Fans can also listen to the game in the Lafayette area with Ian Auzenne (PxP) and Ross Cook (color) providing the commentary on KHXT-FM (107.9) and worldwide on RaginCajuns.com.
 
Tickets are available on-line at RaginCajuns.com and the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at the Cajundome.
 
Louisiana (4-3), which last played at home on Nov. 6 against the University of the Virgin Islands, returns to the Cajundome after playing its last six games on the road – the longest road swing by the Ragin' Cajuns since the 2000-01 season.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns closed out their road trip with a 77-73 victory at New Orleans on Wednesday as three players – JaKeenan Gant, Malik Marquetti and P.J. Hardy – scored a team-high 12 points to lead five players in double figures.
 
Southern (1-6), under first-year coach Sean Woods, claimed a 74-65 victory over Wiley College in its home opener on Tuesday. The Jaguars opened the 2018-19 season with a six-game road trip that included games at Alabama, Baylor and Louisville.
 
The game against Southern marks the first meeting between the schools since Dec. 18, 1996 when Louisiana claimed a 91-65 victory at the Cajundome. Louisiana leads the all-time series, 6-2, including a 5-2 mark in games played in Lafayette.
 

GAME INFORMATION
LOUISIANA (4-3) vs. SOUTHERN (1-6)
Date / Time:
December 1, 2018 / 7 p.m.   
Site: Lafayette, La.
Arena: Cajundome (12,362)
 
Radio: KHXT 107.9 FM
Talent: Ian Auzenne (PxP); Ross Cook (color)
TV: ESPN+
Talent: Dan McDonald (PxP), Eric Mouton (color)
 
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Social Updates: @RaginCajunsMBB | #GeauxCajuns
 
Series: Louisiana leads, 6-2
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads, 5-2
In Baton Rouge: Louisiana leads, 1-0
Streak: Louisiana +2
 
THE COACHES
LOUISIANA
Head Coach:
Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at Louisiana: 159-114 (ninth season), Career Record: 507-280 (26th season)
 
SOUTHERN
Head Coach:
Sean Woods (Kentucky, 1992)
Record at Southern: 1-6 (first season), Career Record: 128-156 (10th season)
 
STORY LINES
• Louisiana returns from its longest regular-season roadtrip since the 2000-01 season when it faces in-state opponent Southern University at the Cajundome.
• The meeting between Louisiana and Southern is the first on the hardwood between the schools since the Ragin' Cajuns posted a 91-65 victory on December 18, 1996.
• Louisiana is playing the third of four consecutive games against in-state opponents and the second of nine straight games within the state.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have won their last 15 games at home against in-state opponents dating back to Jan. 19, 2015.
• Louisiana has won 14 straight games at home against all non-conference opponents since March 23, 2016.
 
QUICK HITS
• The Ragin' Cajuns are 22-5 all-time against schools from the Southwestern Athletic Conference, going a combined 10-0 against Alabama State (1-0), Alcorn State (4-0), Grambling (1-0), Mississippi Valley (1-0) and Prairie View (3-0).
• Louisiana's six-game road trip was its longest stretch of games played away from home since the 2000-01 season. The Ragin' Cajuns spent the month of December on the road, going 2-4 overall in games at Auburn (Dec. 4) and South Alabama (Dec. 23), the Trend Homes Classic (Dec. 19-20 at Fresno State) and the Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic (Dec. 28-30).
JaKeenan Gant is one of four players from the Sun Belt Conference and 49 players nationally named to the Lou Henson Award Watch List. The award is presented to the top mid-major player in Division I.
• Gant is one of six players nationally to average at least 17 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.0 steals per game in 2018-19. Gant is joined on the list by Zion Williamson (Duke), Bol Bol (Oregon), Anthony Lamb (Vermont), Lamine Diane (Cal State Northridge) and Daniel Jackson (Arkansas).
Marcus Stroman's 256 assists at Louisiana are tied with Randall Daigle for 24th in school history. Stroman is 12 assists shy of tying Drexal Allen (268, 1983-86) for 23rd place on the Ragin' Cajuns career list.
 
SCOUTING SOUTHERN
• Southern, under first-year coach Sean Woods, earned its first win of the season on Tuesday with a 74-65 victory over Wiley College. The Jaguars played their first six games on the road, including games at Alabama (Nov. 6), Baylor (Nov. 10) and Louisville (Nov. 13) to open the season.
• Eddie Reese (15.7 ppg.) leads Southern in scoring with Jayden Saddler (10.6) the other player averaging in double figures. Sidney Umude, averaging 9.7 points per game, leads Southern in rebounds (4.9) while Saddler is averaging a team-best 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals.
• The Jaguars have averaged 64.1 points per game in their first seven contests while allowing 81.1.
 
HOOPS, FOOTBALL DOUBLE DUTY FOR BOTH RAGIN' CAJUNS, JAGUARS
• While Louisiana and Southern will be battling out on the hardwood at the Cajundome, both of the universities respective football teams will be looking to claim titles in their respective conference championship games on Saturday.
• Louisiana, under first-year head coach Billy Napier, claimed the SBC West Division title and will face Appalachian State for the inaugural Sun Belt Conference Championship in Boone, N.C.
• Southern, which claimed the SWAC West Division title by virtue of its 38-28 win over arch-rival Grambling last week in the 45th annual Bayou Classic, will face Alcorn State in the Toyota SWAC Championship Game in Lorman, Miss.
 
CAJUNS GET BATTLE-TESTED EARLY
• For only the second time in school history, Louisiana faced at least two teams ranked in the top 10 when it played at No. 6 Tennessee (Nov. 9) and No. 2 Kansas (Nov. 16).
• The only other time Louisiana faced two top-10 teams in the same season was in 2004-05 when the Ragin' Cajuns played then No. 2-ranked Kansas (L, 96-51) and No. 4 Louisville (L, 68-62).
• The Nov. 16 game at Kansas was Louisiana's second contest against a No. 2-ranked team in school history - ironically, the previous game against a No. 2 team was Kansas.
• Louisiana's lone win against a top-5 team in nine games came in a 70-61 win over then-No. 5 Georgetown (with freshman Patrick Ewing) in the opening game of the 1981 Great Alaska Shootout.
 
THE RAGIN' CAJUNS LEGACY LIVES ON
• Two members of the 2018-19 Ragin' Cajuns squad are following in the footsteps of their fathers, who each played for then-USL.
• Freshman forward Kobe Julien (Baton Rouge) is the son of former Ragin' Cajuns forward Wayne Julien (1977-81) with freshman guard Eli Mouton (Lafayette) the son of former Ragin' Cajuns player and current ESPN+ analyst Eric Mouton.
 
TEAMS PLAY FAST UNDER MARLIN
• During Bob Marlin's 25-year tenure as a head coach, that includes three trips to the NCAA Tournament and a NJCAA national championship, his teams have employed an fast-paced style of basketball that has averaged 78.5 points per game during that span.
• His teams have averaged over 70 points per game 24 of the 25 years.
• The last six Ragin' Cajuns teams under Marlin have led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring.
• His last five teams has averaged 19th among 351 Division I teams in scoring.
• The 2017-18 edition averaged 83.2 points per game and posting the highest season average since the 1990-91 season.
 
BORN ON THE BAYOU
• Eight of the 15 players on the 2018-19 Ragin' Cajuns basketball team hail from the state of Louisiana.
• Baton Rouge - Kobe Julien (Madison Prep) and Jalen Johnson (University Lab); Lafayette - Eli Mouton (Ascension Episcopal School); Lake Charles - P.J. Hardy (St. Louis Catholic); Alexandria - Cedric Russell (Peabody) Luling - Mason Aucoin (Hahnville); DeRidder - R.J. Gladney (DeRidder); Roseland - Jeremy Hayes.
 
TROPHY MARLIN
• Head coach Bob Marlin is in his ninth season at the helm of the Ragin' Cajuns with his teams from 2013-15 equaling the most wins (45) since a period from 1982-84 which saw then-USL post records of 22-10 (1982-83) and 23-10 (1983-84).
• During the past two seasons, Louisiana's 48 wins equaled the 1970-72 teams for the best two-year mark in school history.
• Under Marlin's guidance, the Ragin' Cajuns have made five postseason appearances, including a berth in the 2014 NCAA Championships.
• He is 159-114 in his career at Louisiana and has taken two teams - Louisiana (2014) and Sam Houston State (2003, 2010) to the NCAA Championships.
 
CAJUNS IN THE PROS
• Louisiana currently has one player - Elfrid Payton (New Orleans Pelicans) - competing in the National Basketball Association.
• The Ragin' Cajuns have had three players - Andrew Toney (8th pick, 1980, Philadelphia), Kevin Brooks (18th pick, 1991, Milwaukee) and Payton (10th pick, 2014, Philadephia/Orlando) taken in the first round of the NBA Draft.
• Louisiana has had eight players compete on an NBA roster - Brooks, Payton, Toney, Larry Fogle (New York Knicks), Dwight "Bo" Lamar (Los Angeles Lakers), Shawn Long (Philadelphia), Fred Saunders (Phoenix, Boston, New Orleans Jazz) and Marvin Winkler (Milwaukee).
 
100-POINT GAMES
• Louisiana reached the 100-point mark for the 139th time in school history after its 121-80 win over the University of the Virgin Islands on Nov. 6.
• The Ragin' Cajuns recorded five 100-point games last season - a 113-58 win over Louisiana College (Nov. 14), a 115-82 victory over Savannah State (Nov. 17), a 105-80 win at Nicholls State on Dec. 1,  a 102-91 victory at Georgia Southern and a 100-79 win over UT Arlington on Feb. 17.
• In all, UL is 136-3 in games in which it has scored 100 points.
• Under head coach Bob Marlin, Louisiana is 18-0 in games when scoring 100 points or greater.
 
CAJUNS SNAP THE CLOSE GAME "L" SCHNEID
• During the Bob Marlin era, Louisiana is 45-41 in games decided by six points or less with at least nine wins recorded in both 2010-11 and 2013-14.
• During the 2016-17 season, Louisiana finished 7-5 in games decided by six points or less after going 0-6 the previous year.
• The Cajuns were 3-1 in games decided by six points or less in 2017-18.
 
SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
• Season tickets, beginning at $100, are available online at RaginCajuns.com using Account Manager, or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2357.
• All current UL faculty and staff, along with recent graduates (within the last five years), can purchase season tickets at a 50-percent discount to cheer on the Ragin' Cajuns during the 2018-19 season at the Cajundome.
• The special package will allow recent graduates of Louisiana to purchase tickets in sections 101-103. Discounts will be applied upon confirmation of graduate status by the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office.
 
GET YOUR PASSPORT
• The game against Southern is part of the "Louisiana Passport," which will recognize Ragin' Cajuns fans who attend all eight of Louisiana's scheduled games against in-state opponents during the 2018-19 season.
• Each game, beginning with the Ragin' Cajuns Nov. 28 game at New Orleans, fans will get their passport stamped at a location to be determined. In-state games for the Ragin' Cajuns include home games against Southern (Dec. 1), Loyola (Dec. 5), Louisiana Tech (Dec. 15) and ULM (Feb. 16), with additional road games slated against McNeese State (Dec. 18), Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 29) and ULM (Jan. 19).
• At Louisiana's game against ULM at the Cajundome on Feb. 16, those who have a completed passport with eight stamps will be recognized on the court at some point during the game.
• For more information on tickets, contact the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 265-2357. For information concerning parking, contact the RCAF at (337) 851-2903.
 
FOLLOW THE CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Twitter (@RaginCajunsMBB), Facebook (RaginCajunsMBB) or Instagram (@RaginCajunsMBB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Men's Basketball.

 
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